Jayyus Things to Do

For me there are few sights more beautiful in the Middle East than the rolling valleys of fields of olive trees. The olive tree is the emblem of Palestinian villages and its branches are famous throughout the world as a symbol for peace.

The Wall in this part of the West Bank has been completed now, although there are rumours that it might be enlarged again. Around the Jayous area it takes the form of an 8 metres tall high-security fence, complete with barbed wire and occasional watchtowers.

To get through the Wall you have to use the special gates at varying intervals. Some are open 24 hours, permanently manned by soldiers. The one that I had to pass through each day to get to the olive fields opens just a few times a day, for an hour in the morning, lunch and evening.

Or it's supposed to at least. After one hard day's work the soldiers decided not to turn up until over an hour after the official opening time - so we simply had to sit there and wait and wait and wait while other army jeeps drove past and laughed. This was during Ramadan too so the farmers had been working all day in the dusty fields without water or food and were late back for breaking the fast and the call to prayer.

In order to build the Wall the Israeli army uprooted thousands of olive trees belonging to the village. Needless to say, no compensation was offered. In the village Mayor's front garden there are the remains of the trunk of the oldest tree to be destroyed. It was apparently 600 years old, although some added that it was from Roman times, which is obviously a considerable bit more, so I'm not sure that anyone really knows. What is certain is that it won't be getting any older. For a village dependent on olive picking, the loss of so many trees is a huge blow.